This September 2021 update of the Global Report on Food Crises provides new estimates related to the number of people in Crisis or worse (IPC/CH Phase 3 or above) in 2021. These estimates are available for 42 of the 55 countries/territories in food crises, according the 2021 Global Report published in May. 

Main findings: 

Rising acute food insecurity in 2021

When comparing the 42 countries/territories where data are available for 2021 with corresponding 2020 data, the number of people in Crisis or worse rose from 135 million in 2020 to 161 million in 2021.

A growing number of people in Catastrophe

A total of 584 000 people - four times higher than the estimates for 2020 - were projected to be in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) in 2021, requiring urgent action to prevent widespread starvation, death and total collapse of livelihoods in parts of four countries: Ethiopia, Madagascar, South Sudan and Yemen.

Increasing populations in Emergency

By September 2021, nearly 35 million people were in Emergency or worse (IPC/CH Phase 4 or above) in 39 countries/territories with IPC/CH analyses. This represents a considerable rise since 2020, when 28.4 million people were in these phases in 38 countries/territories.

The situation has considerably worsened in Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Yemen, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Haiti. 

Populations in Stressed

By September, around 227 million people were in Stressed (IPC/CH Phase 2) in 40 countries/territories in 2021 and required action for disaster risk reduction and livelihoods protection. This also marks an uptick since 2020 when 208 million people were in Stressed in 43 countries/territories.